The Chosen One
by SodapopXPonyboylover
Summary: The Queens ship has crashed on Tatooine, where Anakin Skywalker is being held under Sidious's "care". He has been tainted by the Dark Side, but something about these new arrivals gives him hope, something he's never had. Full summary inside. Anakin/Padme
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, George Lucas does.**

**The Chosen One – Chapter 1**

**Full Summary: **Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme are riding aboard the Queen's ship, when it's suddenly shot down. There is little trace of who has done it, and what's worse is they are forced to land on the planet Tatooine, which is controlled by the Hutts. Upon arriving there, they meet a peculiar boy, who seems to have constant mood swings. Obi-Wan thinks that the boy is dangerous, but to Qui-Gon, something remains unseen in the boy's soul. He can feel the Dark Side of the Force flowing around the boy, and can feel the power the boy possesses, but he feels the need to help him. He wants to show Anakin the Light Side of the Force, in the process throwing the Emperor's hold off of the boy. The Emperor, who has stolen control of Tatooine from the Hutts, will not let the boy slide from his fingers so easily, even if it means hurting his conflicted Dark Apprentice…

…

Qui-Gon Jinn was in utter shock.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way; everything had been planned out carefully, and for what? A Gungan who can barely walk without causing a whole planet to detonate; and a disturbance in the force so clear in his mind that his head felt like it was going to explode.

There was a gasping sort of sound, and a gust of wind blew Qui-Gon's hair all around him. He turned around swiftly to look at his apprentice – Obi-Wan Kenobi. He had a serious look on his face, and Qui-Gon guessed that whatever was about to come out of his mouth wasn't good.

"We've been hit by a laser fire. It isn't good, the hyperdrive has been damaged." He then looked at Qui-Gon, as though waiting for him to save the day. Luckily, Qui-Gon had a plan B.

"Are there any nearby planets? We are going to need to land the ship, make repairs."

Obi-Wan nodded, "It just so happens there is a nearby planet – Tatooine. It doesn't exactly have a beautiful visage, but it will have to do."

Qui-Gon walked forward, his cloak billowing behind him. Obi-Wan followed with some hesitation, "Are you sure we should land there? It isn't exactly a safe planet."

"And a broken ship isn't exactly a place I would like to stay either." Qui-Gon gently placed his hand on his apprentice's shoulder; Obi-Wan's gaze was unwavering but full of hope and fear. "We must be brave for what is to come." He spoke softly, then started to walk again. Obi-Wan followed him with more confidence this time.

The queen's handmaid, Padme, was waiting for them. Her eyebrows were slanted and she looked troubled…and irritated.

"Are you planning on doing something?" she asked. Obi-Wan, not wanting to have to face this headstrong girl, left it up to his master to reply.

Qui-Gon smiled, "We have the whole thing under control. We're going to land on the planet Tatooine." He waited calmly for her reply.

Her face changed abruptly as horrified shock melted over her features. "Tatooine? This is not a planet the Queen would have chosen."

"Well the Queen isn't here right now."

She frowned, bit her lip, and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked like she had wanted to snap back, but obviously thought the better of it.

"Now, young handmaiden, will you please have the kindness to sit down so I can land the ship?"

She sat down stiffly next to Obi-Wan, who simply stared forward. One would think he was ignoring her presence, but he was simply shy.

The whole ship was shaking by now, and Padme let out a slight cry as she was jolted forward. Obi-Wan caught her by the arm though, and pulled her back up. He himself was ruffled, and his eyes were wide.

Qui-Gon's face was full of concentration and concern. "We're almost there." He reassured his wide-eyed passengers, "we'll make it."

Padme loosened up a bit and Obi-Wan let out a relieved sigh, rubbing his forehead with his sleeve. He had never liked flying.

Light exploded into their eyes as they entered the atmosphere of the planet, which was so much brighter than the dark barrier surrounding it. Clouds drifted around them and the ship steadied slightly. From her view, Padme couldn't make out any people, but she could see mounds of sandy hills with dark holes leading into them. _No, houses! _She realized as they got closer.

Figures appeared in the distance, primarily humans but also Jawas and other various aliens. She could have sworn she saw some Tusken Raiders too. Obi-Wan looked around in wonder and curiosity, whilst Qui-Gon concentrated on getting the ship ready to land. Padme was leaning forward in her seat, nervous and a bit intimidated. She had heard stories, that this was a planet to be feared. Gangs and dealers roamed around every street corner, and the inhabitants of this planet were not to be trusted. She took this bit of information to mind before straightening herself and waiting for the ship to land.

In what seemed like a million light-years later, the ship finally landed smoothly on the sandy-cover that the planet was held under. Droids and men alike were both running (and floating) towards the ship. Qui-Gon pressed the door release button before getting up out of his seat to meet the new inhabitants. Obi-Wan and Padme followed more cautiously behind, both having heard the fearful stories.

"My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, and these are my two fellow travelers – Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme, a handmaid." Qui-Gon introduced himself and the rest of the crew. "We are in need of parts for our ship, as you can see, it's been damaged."

The short -very short - man he was talking to was rubbing his chin and eyeing the ship; mainly where most of the damage was. He had a dark cloak on, and it was impossible to see his face. "I'll take you to my master." He replied, and everyone was shocked to hear a young boy's voice. This was no man, but a mere boy!

"How old are you?" Padme bravely asked, everyone shot her a look, but were just as curious as to find the answer.

The boy didn't seem to hear her. "Come on, I'll take you to my master."

Qui-Gon's eyebrows rose at the word 'master', but he didn't comment on it. He was the first to follow after the boy, noticing that the company the boy had been with all were scruffy and wearing raggedy clothes. The boy hadn't told them his name yet, and he would wait patiently until the boy felt comfortable enough to speak his mind.

Obi-Wan had caught up with his master, "Master, forgive me, but do you think this is wise? Following this…this boy?" he asked in a low voice.

Qui-Gon replied just as low, "We will in time find out who he is, but be patient. There is much to learn, and sometimes patience is the only way in getting to find it."

Obi-Wan strongly disagreed, but didn't say anything as he fell into step with Padme, who lagged slightly behind. "I think this is foolish." She whispered to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked curiously around him, before answering: "I agree."

The droids were starting to shift next to them, forming a tight circle around the trio. Little did they know that Jar-Jar Binks, a Gungan, was still on the ship, watching their every move. He would be called when the time was right, but for now, he had to wait and observe.

"Here," the boy spoke once they reached a large sand-mound. Padme recognized it as one of the houses she had seen, but this one was slightly bigger. She noted the people in the streets were all wearing dark hoods, so it was impossible to make out if they were men, women, children, or a different species. "This is the local shop, my master should be in here. He controls it and all of the other trade and markets. This is the best one though, and he's usually in here."

They nodded and followed the boy inside. They were buffeted with a cool breeze, and Padme about died with relief. A planet so hot was utterly baffling to her, since she had grown up on a lukewarm planet. There were counters and random parts lined all along the walls; the boy stopped very suddenly, and the trio nearly crashed into him. They all looked up to see what had frozen the boy.

There was a man, if you could call it that, staring straight at them. His skin was wrinkled and grey, and his yellow eyes could be seen from underneath his hood. The boy gave a slight bow before straightening up again. "There are passerby's here, their ship is damaged and they are in desperate need of spare parts."

The boy lifted the hood off of him to reveal dark blonde curly hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes. There was a hard glint to them though, one that could be described as hatred. Perhaps fear, anger - Possibly all three.

The man, _thing, _stared at them for a little, before turning back to the boy. "Very well Anakin," his voice was raspy. "You may return home for the day." The boy – Anakin – looked very surprised, but he covered it up impressively.

"Yes Master." He bowed again and backed away, almost tripping in his attempt at a fast-walk out of the store. He was clearly excited to be excused for the day, and looking at this thing here, no one was surprised.

_So this is that so-called 'Master' he spoke of, _Qui-Gon thought.

"You are in need of parts are you?" he asked, eyes glinting dangerously. Padme shivered; _the eyes of a killer. _

"Yes…?"

"You can call me Darth Sidious."

Padme blinked extremely fast, and Obi-Wan almost gasped in shock, but he managed to muffle it. The dark lord…was hiding out here?

Qui-Gon, on the other hand, seemed completely fine. "Yes, Darth Sidious, you can see the damage here." He pulled a small black object from inside his cloak and lifted it up so that Darth Sidious could see. A faint blue light appeared as Qui-Gon pushed the button, and the image of a ship could be seen. Qui-Gon pointed to where a visible dent was that showed the wire's, and explained that their hyperdrive was fried.

Darth Sidious said nothing for a while, then said, "I will have to attend to your…problem…tomorrow, for I am quite busy now." Noticing that his gaze wasn't on him, they turned to see what he was looking at. A Tusken Raider (also known as Sand-People) was standing right outside the door, club in hand.

Padme had frozen in fear, and Obi-Wan was about to reach for his lightsaber, when Qui-Gon's hand stopped him. "We understand." Qui-Gon said, bowing. "But if you could recommend a place for us to stay, we would be grateful."

Obi-Wan's jaw nearly dropped to the ground and Padme had to hold in a squeak. Qui-Gon was trying to make small talk with a Sith Lord while a Tusken Raider was standing just outside the door? He must be playing at something, but what?

Darth Sidious turned his attention back to Qui-Gon, apparently as surprised as Obi-Wan and Padme, but he didn't let it on. "The Barrel Inn." He replied in his monotonous voice, before directing his attention back to the Tusken Raider. The trio cautiously left the store, in fear that there were more Sand-People, but to their immense relief there wasn't.

"Master, what was that?" Obi-Wan asked, both amazed and angry at the same time.

"That was me trying to get on his good side. We didn't come here for trouble, and we don't want to leave with them trailing on our backs."

Obi-Wan glanced respectfully at the ground, but Padme spoke up. "We wouldn't have been in this mess if it weren't for you."

Qui-Gon's eyes lowered as he said, "I know."

Padme didn't say anything else, just started walking. "Come on, let's find this Barrel Inn and hope it isn't as hot as it is out here."

…

It turns out it wasn't. The sand was hardened and cool inside, and the windows allowed a breeze to come through. Padme sat stiffly on the bed, surprised when it turned out to be soft. Obi-Wan soon followed her lead, while Qui-Gon chose to stand. He was looking out of the window.

"I'm still shocked that the Sith were here all along and we didn't even know it…"

"This planet isn't under our watch, there is no way we could have known."

"But still, they've been hiding here this whole time and for what? That boy didn't look any older than 12, 13. Were they really here for that long? Or did they just get here?"

"Padme, I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your questions, but for now…we're just going to have to stay put. There is no way for us to leave with our ship damaged, and we can't borrow one because then we'd have to go get Jar-Jar. We can't arouse suspicions, especially if the Sith are here."

Padme didn't say anything else; instead she occupied herself with looking around the room.

"There are only two beds." She observed.

"I'll sleep on the floor." Obi-Wan offered.

"No," Qui-Gon stated, "I will, you two need a good night's sleep."

"Master, no offence, but so do you."

"I'll be fine, please, sleep on the beds."

Obi-Wan nodded, "If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Just then a silver protocol droid came in, "Is there anything I can do for you sirs, madam?"

"Yes please, can you get us another bed set?"

"Of course, right away, anything else?"

"No, that will be all."

"Good day." The droid bowed and left.

"Should we trust them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We must."

Padme looked like she disagreed, but didn't say anything to them.

"What about that Anakin boy, should we trust him?"

"My apprentice, you ask too many questions." Qui-Gon smiled, and went forward to stroke the boy's head. "In time, you will see."

Obi-Wan had no clue what he meant about 'you will see', but he listened with respect anyway.

Padme obviously wasn't thinking the same thing. "I don't think we should trust him, if they're here, he's probably been corrupted."

"His eyes were normal." Obi-Wan pointed out, looking from Padme to Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon looked deep in thought, he was rubbing his chin and nodding.

"We'll have to see how events play out."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it, young handmaiden."

Padme's jaw clenched and she stared forward, stubbornly ignoring the Jedi Knight.

Obi-Wan frowned and looked away, wishing with all his might that they would be off this horrible planet soon.

Qui-Gon once again put a hand on his shoulder, "Do not worry. Everything will be okay, soon."

Obi-Wan looked up at his master, as though he didn't trust that statement. Qui-Gon smiled and walked away.

"I don't like it." Padme stated again once he left.

"Neither do I." Obi-Wan said in a soft voice.

…


	2. Chapter 2

**The Chosen One: Chapter 2**

"Where are we?" Padme asked, following Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon stopped to ask what settlement they were at. Today was hotter than yesterday.

"Mos Espa." The man grunted, before turning away. Qui-Gon looked at the two, "Does that answer your question?"

Padme glared at him, stating, "I suppose so."

Qui-Gon smiled at her, ignoring her glare, and looked at Obi-Wan. "Are you ready?"

"Yes Master." Obi-Wan replied, while Padme said nothing.

Suddenly they saw the outline of a boy who looked really familiar. "That's Anakin." Padme stated, staring at him. Anakin was looking around, before disappearing into one of the shops.

Qui-Gon started to follow him, when Obi-Wan exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"That shop looks like it has parts; I'd rather it be this shop than the other one." Obi-Wan could tell he was lying, but didn't comment on it.

"This is stupid." Padme sighed, but not loud enough for the two Jedi's to hear.

They walked towards where Anakin had disappeared and were instantly greeted with the cool air that the shop had to offer.

"Welcome, welcome." Stated a thick looking Toydarian. Padme eyed him carefully, before looking around the shop. Anakin was sitting on a big sand lodge, staring at them. She looked away hurriedly, trying to ignore his intimidating look.

Qui-Gon bowed at the Toydarian. "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, this is Obi-Wan, and Padme. We have come here in search of parts. Our ship has been damaged."

"My name is…Watto." The Toydarian stated hesitantly. "And you need parts for your ship? What kind of parts are you talking about?"

Qui-Gon went on to explain how there ship was damaged and what they needed, but was careful to not give away too much information. Watto was nodding his head, "It will have to be cleared with Lord Sidious first, but I think I can get you all that." He whipped around, glaring at Anakin. He started speaking a different language to the boy, who, to everyone's surprise except Watto, started talking back in the same language. It was mostly gibberish to the trio, but they could make out the words 'Sidious' and 'Maper', which Qui-Gon knew meant mother in Huttese.

Watto shook his head and waved Anakin away. Anakin grabbed something off of the counter and left, a dangerous look in his eye. Everyone was curious, but pretended they hadn't heard the exchange, even though they were right there. Watto shook his head and turned back to look at them.

"As I said, I have the parts, but it will need to be cleared with the Dark Lord first." He grunted.

Qui-Gon bowed, "Of course. We will return back shortly, would it be possible to have his approval then?"

"Or his disapproval." Watto laughed in a menacing way. "Either way, you must come back if you wish to leave this place."

"We will, come along." He told Padme and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan walked ahead of him and Qui-Gon kept his hand on Padme's shoulder, steering her out. She didn't seem to mind though – Qui-Gon had seen how uncomfortable she had looked while talking with Watto, and how the boy's glare had unnerved her.

There was something about this boy though, that stood out to Qui-Gon. He couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something going on with him. He wanted to find out more about this boy, and what exactly his purpose here was.

They stopped once they reached the place they were staying at, and stepped inside. "What are we doing here?"

"I need to inform Jar-Jar of what we've seen. We haven't talked to him since yesterday."

They followed after him to their room, and Qui-Gon pulled a comm out of his pocket. "Jar-Jar, come in Jar-Jar."

There was a silence before a crackling sounded and an annoying voice squeaked, "Meesa here, Meesa here. Have yousa found anysing?"

"Yes, we have. Darth Sidious is hiding out here, and there's this boy…" Obi-Wan and Padme exchanged confused looks. "There's something about this boy here, and I want to find out what."

He then put the speaker back into his pocket, turning to look at the appalled people behind him.

"Are you talking about this Anakin youngling?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, I am. There's something about this child, something is wrong."

"Of course there is," Padme stated, "He's been living in this horrid place his whole life. Who knows what could have happened to him here, especially with the Sith taking over and—"

Qui-Gon cut her off, "I don't mean that. Whenever I see him, I get the strange feeling that there's something more to this youngling that meets the eye."

Padme didn't say anything, but Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon like he was crazy. "You want us to stay for the boy?"

"I'm not asking you to stay, you can leave. I'm going to stay here though; I can call someone to pick me up when I get the information I need."

Obi-Wan looked horrified, "Master, we won't leave you here! If you're staying, we'll stay." He then looked at Padme, who looked at the ground and didn't say anything.

Qui-Gon smiled, "Obi-Wan, you have great courage in you. I couldn't be more proud of you."

Obi-Wan's face broke out into a wide grin and he looked as though he had never been happier. He had his mentor's trust and pride, and wouldn't want to change it for the world.

…

"So, what do you propose to do? Sit around all day and wait for this boy?"

"That's exactly what I plan on doing. You are free to do whatever you want, we can check out some of the stands if you'd like?"

Padme stared at him for a while before gazing resentfully at the ground, "Forget it."

Obi-Wan was silent during this whole exchange. He looked up suddenly, and said, "There!"

Everyone glanced up. Sitting in the shadows was Anakin himself. He was shaking slightly and sweat beaded his forehead. He lifted up the bottom of his pants to reveal his shins. The skin was partially ripped off, and by the way Anakin kept wincing, it must have hurt pretty bad. He pulled something out of his pocket and started dabbing at the wounds, letting out small hisses of pain every time he dabbed at it. Qui-Gon stood abruptly and went over to stand near Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan exchanged startled glance before getting up and following him.

"Hello there Anakin," Qui-Gon greeted, "are you alright?"

Anakin jumped and let his pants fall back over his flesh wound. "I'm fine."

Qui-Gon nodded, "Well, if you need something to heal your wounds, I have it."

Anakin looked at him cautiously, sizing him up. "What do you mean?"

Qui-Gon pulled something out of his pocket. It was silver and a liquid was oozing inside of it, it also had a hole to pour it on the cut.

"Here, I'll give it to you, as long as you tell me what happened."

Anakin threw him a glare, before looking back down at his pants, which were covering the wounds on his legs.

"It's not worth it." He mumbled, and shakily started to get up. "I have to go."

"Wait, Anakin." Anakin stopped in his tracks and turned around. "You don't have to tell me how you got these wounds, but let me clean them up for you at least."

Anakin hesitated for a minute before limping back over and sitting back down on the sand mound. He lifted up his pant legs to show the wounds again.

They looked worse up close, one could actually see where the skin had been ripped away to reveal the muscle underneath.

"May I?" asked Qui-Gon, the silver container in hand.

"Go ahead." Anakin sighed, looking as though he were going to regret this later.

Qui-Gon sat down next to the boy and got to work. Occasionally Anakin would give a wince or a hiss of pain, but other than that, he didn't make a peep. _Having a wound like that, this boy must be very brave, _Padme thought.

Everyone but Obi-Wan didn't see Qui-Gon let a part of the blood sink into the silver container. Obi-Wan looked at his master curiously, who gave him a slick smile. Obi-Wan looked away in confusion.

After he was done, Qui-Gon got up and shook Anakin's hand. "All better?"

Anakin stared for a little at his patched up wound before saying, "Yes. Thank you."

Padme decided this was the time to step in. They obviously weren't going to get the boy to talk in a situation like this, and information was what Qui-Gon needed, so she boldly said, "Would you like to meet us for lunch today? I'm starving and I don't know any places to eat. It would be very helpful if we had a guide." She smiled at Anakin, who looked away hurriedly.

"I…I suppose."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were impressed; Padme sure was good at getting this boy to do what she wished. Perhaps that was just because she was so pretty though.

"Great! Where can we meet?"

Anakin stared at the ground for a minute before looking back up at her, seeming to forget that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were still there, "We can meet right here if you'd like. Then I could show you the best places to eat."

"Thank you Anakin….?"

"Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker."

"Thank you Anakin Skywalker." Padme smiled again and then curtsied. "I'll see you later today, then."

Anakin smiled, "See you later."

…

"I still can't believe you did that!" Obi-Wan said admiringly. Padme smiled, a faint blush lighting her cheeks.

"You guys needed information, and I want to get off of this planet as soon as possible."

Qui-Gon looked over at her, "he sure was a cute boy wasn't he?"

"What? He's only about thir- I mean, yes, he was a cute little boy." She corrected herself, thinking that he might have meant that he was a small child to be adored. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon exchanged smirks, and Padme stared stubbornly in front of her, ignoring the two Jedi's.

Suddenly Qui-Gon took the silver container out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Padme asked. Qui-Gon answered, "What must be done."

Padme sat back, confused, while Obi-Wan stared at him.

Qui-Gon pulled out the receiver and pressed a button. "Jar-Jar, come in."

The answer came immediately. "Yesh, meesa here!"

"Jar-Jar, I'm sending you a sample of blood. I need to know how many midi-chlorian's this sample has."

There was a slight pause, and then, "Eurrr I'd say it's pobobly a lot."

"How many is a lot?"

"Euuhhh over 27,000."

Everyone in the room froze. Obi-Wan's mouth was slightly agape and Qui-Gon's face was shocked. "Are you sure of this?"

"Meesa shure."

Qui-Gon put the receiver back in his pocket and looked at his companions.

"That has to be the highest midi-chlorian's in the history of the jedi."

Qui-Gon was looking troubled. "I know."

Padme sat forward, "What are we going to do about it?"

"For now, nothing. We still need to find out more about him before we jump to conclusions."

Obi-Wan spoke up, "Master, you don't think…you don't suppose that this boy could be the Chosen one? The one the prophecy stated that he would bring balance to the force?"

Qui-Gon sighed, "I don't know Obi-Wan."

Padme glanced back down at the ground and Obi-Wan looked as troubled as Qui-Gon felt.

They let the subject drop and walked out of their room, ignoring the passerby's who were cloaked in dark hoods, and walked forward to where they were supposed to meet Anakin.

To their surprise he was already there. He looked up as they approached, a scowl on his face. He quickly shook it off though and stood up, still slightly wobbly from before.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan, who looked at Padme, who looked at Anakin. "We're ready." She said.

Anakin nodded and gave a curt, "follow me."

Qui-Gon was right behind him while Obi-Wan and Padme flanked him. They stopped in front of a taller sand-mound, which had engravings on the sand.

"This is the best place to eat, and it's pretty cheap too. Come on." He then ducked and walked inside the restaurant. Obi-Wan followed right behind him, and Padme walked in last. It was a nice place, the walls were plastered blue and the lights were all different colors. It was dark, but light enough so that you could see everyone. It was really cozy, and nice and cool.

Anakin walked up to the counter, where a Dug was waiting. "Ahhh, Skywalker. I was wondering when you'd show up." He said in a low and dangerous voice. Padme waited for Anakin's reaction, but he did nothing except throw a few gold coins at the Dug. "Give us whatever you've got." He said.

The Dug snarled dangerously and snapped, "You're lucky you're in Sidious's care, or else I would have had you dealt with a long time ago."

"You're lucky that you haven't confronted them yet, or else Sidious would have dealt with you a long time ago, _Sebulba_." Anakin replied smoothly. They all turned to see Sebulba's reaction. His lip curled up and he didn't say anything back, but snarled something to him in a different language. Anakin replied back in that same language, and Padme wondered where this boy had picked up that many languages. But Qui-Gon knew that it was the same language as before, Huttese. After a while of what seemed like arguing in that Native language, they finally stopped and Anakin turned to look at the rest of them.

"He said we can stay here, the foods pretty good. Come on." He then led them in an opposite direction, where they sat down on a comfortable cushion beside a table.

"This is nice." Padme commented. Anakin shrugged, "It's okay."

Out of nowhere droids appeared and put plates down in front of each of them. Padme and Obi-Wan eyed it curiously but Qui-Gon dug in, as well as Anakin. "This is good." Qui-Gon commented. Padme could have sworn she saw Anakin smirk.

Obi-Wan hesitantly picked up his fork and took a bite. He seemed to enjoy it enough, because he started eating it a little faster. Padme figured that if Obi-Wan liked it, she probably would too. She started eating it too and by the time they were done every one of their plates had been wiped clean.

"Did you enjoy it?" Anakin asked them.

"Yes, very much." Padme complimented. Anakin smiled slightly and looked down at his hands.

"So, Anakin," Qui-Gon started, "how old are you?"

"Thirteen." He said quickly.

"How did you come to be here? Under Darth Sidious's care."

Anakin looked around him before replying, "I was born here. I don't even remember when they started enslaving us."

"You're a slave?" Padme asked in shock.

Anakin's face changed. "I'm a person and my name is Anakin."

Padme glanced down. "Sorry, I didn't know."

Qui-Gon put his hands up, "She did not mean any offence. She is merely curious, our ways are different than yours."

Anakin nodded, but the glare remained on his face.

"So, Anakin, your Master, do you know when he came here?"

Anakin was looking down at the table, "Yes."

"When was that?"

"I was…four…" Anakin seemed to be choking on his words. Qui-Gon gave him an encouraging smile.

"Were there slaves before he came here?" Anakin shook his head slowly, then his eyes snapped forward to meet Qui-Gon's.

"I've got to go," he said briskly, "my master will be expecting me."

"As you wish," Qui-Gon got out of his seat and gave a slight bow. Anakin bowed back to him, seemingly reluctant, before storming out of the restaurant, throwing coins at Sebulba who cursed him out as he left.

"I have the feeling you upset him." Obi-Wan commented, coming to stand beside Qui-Gon.

"We're not going to get any information out of him like this. He's too sensitive." Qui-Gon murmured. Padme frowned but didn't say anything.

…


End file.
